Every time I try out a new bento technique, I’m finding I’m enjoying more and more about Japanese cuisine. Today’s bento is probably the best one I’ve had so far. Honestly, it was amazing. Here’s a look before I go into the details:

In the bento box, starting at the bottom and going clockwise:

1. Grainy mustard beet salad

2. Grapes

3. Onigiri filled with umeboshi

4. Two onigiri filled with pulled pork and barbeque sauce

And, in the mug: instant miso soup

Miso

First, let’s talk about my most recent adventure in Japanese cooking. Yesterday I decided I wanted to make a miso soup ball, which is basically miso paste with your choice of added ingredients wrapped up in plastic wrap and stored in your bento box until lunch time, when you add 6 to 8 ounces of hot water to a mug or bowl, and VOILA: Miso soup!

If you don’t know what miso is, it’s basically fermented soy bean paste. It smells like soy sauce, but when turned into a soup it’s a comforting, warm addition to an already fulfilling lunch. I am planning on making quite a bit of miso soup as a part of my bento adventure.

So I scoured all over to find this miso paste. I went to two different grocery stores, Trader Joe’s, and a misleading “Asian” market by my house, called Asia Spices, that only carries Indian food. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I discovered an Asian market very close to home during my quest for miso! They had all kinds of specialty Asian foods, and so I got my miso paste in time to make a miso soup ball for lunch today.

Umeboshi

The other ingredient I was eager to try was umeboshi, which is a Japanese delicacy. Umeboshi can be translated as a “pickled plum” or a “salted plum.” They are extremely sour and salty, and a bit overwhelming the first time you try one, but after that the flavor becomes almost addicting.

I knew if I wanted to buy umeboshi, I’d have to find an Asian specialty store. Luckily, I did, and they had quite the selection of umeboshi. I’m really excited about using these delicious little plums in my bento boxes to come!

Onigiri

Onigiri is my new favorite bento box addition. They are salted rice balls, and they are amazing. The first time I made onigiri, I made traditional onigiri without any filling, and I wrapped them in traditional nori (the same stuff you see wrapped around sushi). But this wasn’t very good, probably a combination of poorly cooked rice, a seat in the refrigerator overnight, and the fact that I’m not a huge fan of nori. But, I was optimistic about trying again, and so that’s what I did today.

I made two different types of onigiri, but because I’m trying to keep my bentos healthy, I only used a little more than 1 cup of rice (I tried to use 1/3 cup for each onigiri, but it turned out I used too much filling and not enough rice, so I had to add a little more.)

The first one I made was a very traditional onigiri: I just put an umeboshi in the middle! The rice cut the sour and saltiness of the umeboshi so perfectly, and the umeboshi jazzed up the plain white rice. Yum!

The other onigiri I made were kind of my spin on a Japanese bento staple: pulled pork onigiri! We had some pulled pork from Kentucky one of my relatives had brought back, along with some AWESOME barbeque sauce (vinegar-based, as the best BBQ sauces are.) I put some of the pork and sauce together in the fridge last night, and just stuffed it in the middle of my onigiri this morning!

That’s pretty much the whole story on my bento box today! But I wanted to end this post with some great bento resources. I got into bento cooking because of this wonderful book: The Just Bento Cookbook by Makiko Itoh. It turns out Makiko’s cookbook is actually the product of an extremely interesting website (although I think it’s more like a blog) called Just Bento! I totally suggest that you peruse the site, even if you’re not that interested in making your own bento box. It might just inspire you to try some new foods! 

So this is actually my third bento box, but I made the second one for lunch on Friday and I was hungry and forgot to take a picture. Luckily, I took a picture of today’s, because let me tell you, this is the most delicious one so far. 

So, here’s what’s in this beauty:

1. White rice (just for fun) garnished with thinly sliced radish

2. Sauteed garlic kale with dried cranberries

3. Ham and cream cheese vegetable rolls

4. Cherry tomatos to fill in the gaps

5. Tamagoyaki: This is the highlight of this bento. I’ll be adding these delicious eggs to more of my bentos for sure. Basically, it’s like a Japanese omelette. You make it by cooking thing layers of scrambled eggs, one at a time, folding each layer on top of the last, until you form kind of a loose log. Then you roll the cooked eggs in a towel or bamboo mat, and no matter how bad your layers were, everything magically comes together as it cools. The eggs are sweetened with sugar and mirin, and soy sauce, and honestly might be the best eggs I’ve ever had. Want to try? Check out this easy recipe!

I’m super excited to try more bentos! This is so much fun!

I made my first-ever bento box tonight, as a trial run for many lunches to come. It was quite the adventure, let me tell you, and I really enjoyed it. If you don’t know, a bento box is a traditional Japanese lunch, where rice, protein, fruits and vegetables are packed together tightly and served at room temperature. There are virtually an endless combination of bento components, and it’s really fun to think of all the possibilities. Not only are bentos healthy, they’re also delicious. Here’s what I made tonight:

1. Brown Rice

2. Quick pickles: Thinly slice cucumbers and radishes, then massage with salt until the vegetables start to lose their crispness. Let sit for at least five minutes, then finish with a squirt of lemon juice.

3. Garlic sauteed spinach: I cooked garlic and red pepper flakes in a bit of olive oil, just for about 10 seconds, and then I put a big handful of spinach into the small pan. It wilts down in seconds!

4. Ginger pork: I pounded a pork chop until it was thin, then cooked it in a screaming hot pan with some canola oil until it was brown. I took it out of the pan, and added two teaspoons each of soy sauce and mirin (a type of rice wine) and a dash of ground ginger to the pan. Then I added the pork right back in, and as it cooked it made a nice sweet sauce to coat the pork. Then it was done!

I’m really excited to start making bentos on a regular basis. I’ll be sure to document all of my bentos along the way!

This post is dedicated to my recently discovered mini-me, Cassie, who asked for some recommendations from Adagio Teas, my favorite loose-leaf tea store.

A little background: Adagio Teas is an online-only loose-leaf tea store, and their teas are exceptional. Most people who are familiar with tea have shopped at Teavana. I started there, and I still buy some of my tea at Teavana. The major difference between Teavana and Adagio comes down to blends: Teavana sells almost exclusively tea blends, flavored with fruits, nuts and other aromatics. Adagio, on the other hand, is my favorite place to buy unflavored or basically-flavored teas. Their green teas are both affordable and delicious. They have a lot of options for trying new teas, and in my opinion Adagio is more cost effective than Teavana. However, sometimes you just want that blend from Teavana that you can’t replicate any other way (citrus lavendar sage, anyone?)

But enough about Teavana. This is a guide to Adagio Teas, after all, so let’s talk about them. One of my favorite features of Adagio is their sample sizes. They sell a (on average) 10-cup sample of all of their teas, which is usually priced between $2-6. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a tea at Teavana only to not really like it that much (and let’s not even talk about that 2-pound purchase a few years ago.) Buying a small sample makes me feel ok about ditching a tea I’m not really into because I know I didn’t waste too much money on it.

The website is really user-friendly, and it separates teas by type: Black, Flavored (black teas), Chai, Oolong, White, Green, Herbal, Rooibos, Decaf, Masters, and Blooms. Here are some of my favorites from some of the sections: 

Black

I’m not really a black tea drinker, but when I do, it’s always Earl Grey. And my favorite Earl Grey from Adagio is Earl Grey Lavendar. It’s everything I love about Earl Grey with some lovely floral notes. All of Adagio’s Earl Grey’s are beautiful, with little blue and yellow cornflowers. There’s really nothing better than a nice Earl Grey to wake you up or pick you  up in the afternoon!

Chai

My all-time favorite chai tea comes from Adagio. The Spiced Apple Chai is the ultimate fall experience. It has all of the delicious masala chai flavors with the sweetness of an apple. I drink it brewed double strength with equal parts warm milk and plenty of agave nectar (or sugar, whatever sweetener you use.) Such a warm and cozy drink!

Green

Green teas are probably my favorite, and Adagio has SO MANY unflavored, traditional greens to choose from. If you’re new to green teas, I’d recommend trying one of the samplers because it can help guide you in the right direction of what kinds of greens you like. I prefer a less grassy flavor, which is why my favorite is Dragonwell. It’s buttery and sweet, with enough earthiness that you know it’s from the ground, but not so much that you feel like you’ve just brewed grass. I’ve tried a lot of the flavored greens from Adagio, but by far my favorite is the Earl Grey Green. Honestly, it might be my favorite tea of all time. It’s got everything I love about green teas with the Earl Grey flavors I adore. And it’s one of the most beautiful loose-leaf teas I’ve ever seen. Try Earl Grey Green for sure!

Herbal

One thing Adagio does that Teavana really doesn’t is offer a lot of herbal teas. I have recently started trying these, and my favorite is Cha Cha. If you’ve ever tried Sleepytime by Celestial Seasonings, Cha Cha is basically Adagio’s answer to it. It’s a blend of peppermint, lemongrass and chamomile, and it’s really soothing and refreshing. I drink it when my stomach is upset, when I have period cramps, when I’m feeling icky and before bed. It’s really the cure-all tea. I don’t usually sweeten it, but when I do, I like to use a really good honey. 

Rooibos 

Rooibos teas come from South Africa, and are not actually tea, but an herb. It’s also known as “red tea” and is naturally caffeine-free. I used to think I hated rooibos, because I had a bad experience with a Teavana rooibos. But I actually think that Adagio stocks a much higher-quality rooibos than Teavana, and that’s why I have rediscovered my love for it. Rooibos tea is really good for allergies, too, which is a nice bonus. I like the Rooibos Vanilla because it’s naturally sweet, so it doesn’t need much fussing. I sometimes blend it with the Cha Cha to sweeten it up! 

Those are my Adagio staples, but I recommend just trying whatever sounds good. Since you can buy samples so cheaply, it’s really not a big deal if you don’t like a tea. Adagio teas make up most of my tea pantry (yes, I have an entire door in the pantry dedicated to my tea. I have a problem.) because they’re affordable and delicious. Have fun exploring all they have to offer!

Only because it’s A Philadelphia Story.

editorrealtalk:

My new goal in life is to become famous enough to be asked to return to my high school and conduct the fight song one last time.